Breaking Boundaries
by celiacprincess
Summary: EWE. To Hermione, working at the Ministry is more of a lifestyle than a job, but it still isn't her dream. Draco views it almost as punishment for his past year. Things simply get worse as they both start getting threatened. Can they do what no Slytherin-Gryffindor team has done and defeat the mysterious threat, before it defeats them? Dramione.
1. Chapter 1

Hermione Granger put her flat iron down and switched it off. It felt weird to be using it, but her parents had always felt a little uneasy at the thought of her doing magic with regards to her body. It hadn't been an issue at home, of course, since she wasn't allowed to use magic outside of school. Now, she was of age and out of school, and technically, her parents weren't there to stop her – they had remained in Australia after the war. She knew that eventually she'd have to stop taming her hair the Muggle way, but for the time being, it would do.

Her life at home had always been quite different from the one she led at Hogwarts. At home, she took the time to do her hair, apply makeup, and generally cater to her appearance. At school, she had far more important things to worry about. Besides, primping helped her fit in with her Muggle friends.

Today was rather significant. She was officially moving out of her childhood home and into a little flat of her own. The main difference, to her, was that she was moving away from Muggle London. Her friends were throwing her a going away party, as it would be the last time they were all together. Hermione hadn't told them where exactly she was moving, since she knew that none of them would be able to come visit her, and she didn't know when or if she would come back to visit them. It was getting tricky to keep her life – school, work, and relationships – a secret from them, and she certainly couldn't tell them.

She double checked her outfit – a cute but casual party dress that Hogwarts Hermione would have never worn – and stowed her wand in her handbag, just in case. Having already altered the wards to keep mostly everyone out, she shut off the bathroom light and exited through the front door, locking it behind her.

''''''''''

The party was fun, considering it was a Muggle one. Hermione always forgot just how different her life was. She had fought in and survived a war, while her friends had been finishing school. Sure, she enjoyed the company of her "summer friends", but any doubts she had about moving to a wizarding neighbourhood flew out the window during the party.

It wasn't a long walk back to her parents' house but she took her time, mentally creating a list of things she would need for that night – her first night in her new home. Since the war, she had stayed super conscious of her surroundings, and despite her distracted mind, she noticed the slightly agar door of her house before she reached it. Knowing for sure that she hadn't left it open, she kept walking until she reached the street corner. The whole time, her hand had been reaching for her wand. Once she reached said corner, she ducked into the telephone booth and cast a disillusionment charm on herself. Hermione then slipped out of the booth and quickly ran back towards her house. Gripping her wand and still invisible, she silently made her way up the front walk. She knew she would have to be careful – if they were Muggles, doing magic in front of them would be tricky, and if they weren't, well, that could be even worse.

The door swung open when she pushed on it, and she muttered a spell that revealed that she wasn't alone. Four more silent steps led her to the living room where she confirmed that the people in her house were Muggles. The first things to tip her off were the firearms that both men had. The second was the fact that they were stealing her TV, instead of staring at it, wondering what the heck it was.

She muttered another spell and a siren started going off. The panicked looks from the two men told her that her impromptu plan was working. They both started towards the door and she hit them each with silent a _confundo_ before speaking out loud.

"You were never here. You never want to come back here. This is your idea."

They nodded, looking dazed, and left, and Hermione removed the charm on herself before locking the door again and magically putting things back where they had been previously. A few moments later, someone knocked at the door. Hermione sighed, knowing what was coming.

"I'm – oh, hello Ms. Granger," the young wizard paled slightly. "I'm here because we got word that magic had been used in front of Muggles…"

"Well I _am _in a Muggle neighbourhood…" she said, knowing that her voice held a tone of annoyance. She didn't feel guilty for lying – it had happened before both to her and others that chose to live in Muggle neighbourhoods. The Ministry was apparently working on a solution to the mix-up, but so far, it was still procedure to send someone to double check.

"Right. I – uh – had to…"

"Make sure, I know. That's why I'm…" she stopped. Few people know that she was moving, and she planned to keep it that way. "That's why I answered so quickly," she amended.

Once the wizard had left, she flopped down on the couch. Her state of relaxation lasted for about five minutes before she forced herself to get up. She could just as easily relax at her flat. With a wave of her wand, several boxes came towards her, stopping their forward motion just before reaching her. She shrunk them before putting them all in her handbag. She altered the wards to keep everyone out and Apparated to her flat.

The good part about living in Wizarding London was that she didn't have to worry about hiding her magic. It wouldn't be strange for her neighbours to never see her door open – she could either Floo or Apparate as she wanted.

She could also unpack with a wand wave, which she did.

The party had been relatively early in the day, and it wasn't five o'clock yet, so Hermione set her Muggle alarm clock for four thirty and allowed herself to take a nap on the couch. Unfortunately, it wasn't the alarm that woke her; it was the incessant tapping at her window. She groaned as she rolled over and stood up, realizing only after she had opened the window that she could have done so with her wand. _Old habits die hard,_ she thought.

_Hermione, _

_Tea? _

_-Harry _

Hermione grinned. She flipped the parchment over, found her quill (because while wand-unpacking worked, the organizational skills associated with it were sorely lacking), and replied that she'd love to – after 5:30 – as she had plans. The letter was sent off, and Hermione made her way to her new bedroom to get ready for the meeting. She had just managed to brush her teeth and her still straight hair, and lay out her clothes when her fireplace came to life. Hermione heard Harry's voice coming from the living room and stuck her head out of her room.

"Harry, you can come in, you know."

Harry's head grinned at her from the green flames. "I know. This will only take a minute. Ginny got a hold of Fidwig before I could reply. I was thinking we could try that new place down the street from your flat. It's in Wizarding London but they serve tea and coffee along with butterbeer and the like."

Hermione nodded. "That sounds good to me."

Harry gave her directions before disappearing from her fireplace. Hermione checked the time and quickly changed out of her Muggle dress and into robes. Her meeting was at a bookstore, which, Hermione realized after arriving, was directly across from the coffee shop in question.

''''''''''

"Neville," Hermione said kindly, putting her book down. "How are you?"

"Great, thanks. And thanks for meeting me. I know you're busy."

Hermione waved it off. "It's what friends are for. Now let me see that article." As Neville handed over the parchment, Hermione though about how things had changed since the war. Harry and Ron had gone on to become Aurors, Ginny was playing Quidditch, Neville was contributing to _The Quibbler_ with articles on plants (and by doing so, was helping the odd newspaper build credibility), Luna was slowly taking over said paper, and Hermione herself was working at the Ministry, helping Kingsley change laws and undo things that had been done under Fudge, Umbridge, and the indirect control of Voldemort. It wasn't exactly what she had hoped to do, but it was needed. Kingsley had assured her that she'd be able to deal with reform for house elves once the Wizarding world was running smoothly. Sadly, while they had been working almost non-stop, there were still snags that reminded her just how messed up the Ministry had been.

The purpose for her meeting with Neville was to look over his article. Even though Luna always did, and even though Neville was dating her, he still felt more comfortable if Hermione checked the article if he had had difficulty with it. It never took long. Neville had a surprisingly exception talent for writing when it came to unusual plants, and though Hermione had told him that several times, she was still asked to check a few of them every so often. It gave her a chance to catch up with Neville, so she did it without hesitation. It was harder to see her friends than she had imagined – everyone had lives of their own now, and their schedules always conflicted.

Neville left just before 5:30, so Hermione purchased the book she had been reading and crossed the street to wait for Harry. She ordered a cup of coffee and opened the book to where she had stopped at, not noticing the blonde boy watching her from across the room.

**AN: Welp, hi! For those of you that know me, welcome back. For those that have never heard of me before, feel free to look around. Let me know what you think about this one. The speed at which I update is directly related to the number of reviews. Peace! **


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you to the lovely person that reviewed! Please proceed to the story. **

Draco Malfoy had noticed her walk in. The war had taught him to be aware of his surroundings. That explained why he noticed her. Unfortunately for him, it didn't explain why he noticed how nice her smile was, or how pretty her hair looked when it wasn't its usual bushy self.

No, those things went unexplained, something that bothered Draco. He turned back to his friend, who was watching him with an amused expression on his face.

"Sod off, Blaise."

"I didn't say a word," the man replied. Anyone that didn't know Blaise Zabini would have missed the way the corner of his mouth twitched as he said it. Draco, however, knew Blaise, and therefore caught the twitch and scowled.

"Can I help you?"

"No," Blaise said. "But she can."

"Forget it." Draco swirled the remnants of his coffee around in his cup.

"I can't do that, mate. It's my job-"

"I know, I know," Draco said, cutting him off. "Not her."

Blaise inclined his head, signaling that he'd drop the subject, but Draco knew it wasn't over. It was never over. Since he'd gotten back from France, Blaise had watched his every move.

It was an exaggeration, of course, but after a year of freedom, being so closely monitored was unnerving. Draco knew that Blaise had to make sure he didn't make himself look like an idiot now that he was back. The man had already done a pretty good job at keeping the events that brought him back under wraps. Those events were the main reason that Draco had agreed to meet his friend at a coffee shop. Blaise had decided that they needed to talk, and Draco needed to be seen in public.

Needless to say, Draco wasn't thrilled with the idea. It was his last weekend before he started at the Ministry, and spending it in a coffee shop wasn't exactly his ideal weekend. He needed to part ways with Blaise. That much was clear.

It came as a surprise when Blaise stood up first, claiming that he needed to get going. Draco, in turn, claimed that he needed to use the loo before leaving, so he'd see Blaise around. The boys parted ways, and Draco waited several minutes before exiting the loo. Blaise was gone, and Granger was staring at the space in front of her with a vacant expression.

"Granger," he said when he reached her table. She looked up at him, and he scrambled. "Did you finally realize that hair isn't supposed to stick out to the side?" Mentally, he slapped himself for even saying anything. He had just meant to snap her out of whatever trance she was in. Draco was so busy beating himself up that he almost missed her response, only realizing that she was speaking as she stood up.

"Thanks for the compliment, Malfoy. Goodbye."

Then she was gone, leaving Draco scowling at thin air. He exited the coffee shop without a backwards glance, and slipped into an alleyway before turning on the spot and showing up outside of a little pub that he had grown to enjoy before his stint in Paris. He only hoped that it hadn't changed.

"Firewhisky, thanks," he said, as he slid onto a stool at the bar. The bartender grinned at him as Draco handed over some Galleons. "It may be the last time I'm here for a while, so it better be good."

It was nearly midnight when the bartender refused to give Draco anything else to drink – much earlier than he had planned. The blonde refused to stay any longer and made his way outside with some difficulty. Even in his inebriated state, Draco knew that Apparating was out of the question. Unfortunately, he had never walked to his flat, and he sure wasn't going to the Manor. He walked, stumbling slightly, until he reached a bench. He sat down on it, vaguely registering that it was a bench left over from when this part of London was inhabited by Muggles, and not really caring. He was drunk, and it was a place to sit.

He sat there for a while before he heard the footsteps. They passed him, stopped, and came back before he opened his eyes.

"Malfoy?"

"Mmm," he muttered, wondering who was out this late and if he should be reaching for his wand.

"Are you drunk?"

He blinked a few times and mentally cursed the bartender for not giving him a potion before he left. The more he blinked, the more the world came into focus. Once it did, he wished it hadn't.

"Granger?"

"Malfoy, what are you doing out here?"

"Sitting."

He saw her raise an eyebrow. "Let me guess," she said. "You're too drunk to Apparate."

"Right as usual," he said, closing his eyes again. She sighed, and he wondered what was coming.

"Come along."

"Huh?" That wasn't what he expected. Draco opened his eyes just a bit.

"I said come along. We'll Apparate to my flat and you can Floo to yours." She held out her hand, waiting.

Draco, however drunk, wasn't going to do that. "Can't you just Apparate into mine?" While he refused to admit it, he had tried to Floo home before while intoxicated and it didn't end well.

Granger looked surprised. "Your wards will let me in?"

"If I'm with you," he said, finally standing up. He rattled off the address and gripped her shoulder, thankful that due to the amount of firewhiskey he had ingested, he wouldn't be held accountable for his actions – particularly the one that involved taking Granger's help.

Granger shook her head and turned, bringing Draco with her. They didn't end up in his flat, but landed on the sidewalk in front of it instead. Draco raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, more for fear of opening his mouth than anything else.

"You can make it from here, I'm sure," she said, stepping away from him. "See you Monday, Malfoy." With that, Draco watched as she turned on the spot and found himself staring at nothing for the second time that day. He shook his head before dragging himself up the front walk and into the lift that led to his flat. It was a nice place – even in his current mental state he could appreciate that. He had chosen to live away from the Manor upon returning, only because he enjoyed the freedom. He would have more of it here than he did in Paris because unlike there, he was living alone now. Unfortunately, Blaise knew both where he lived and how to get in. If he really thought about it, he'd probably have to be more careful here than he was in Paris. Astoria didn't care what he did; Blaise did. Draco shook his head, wondering why he was comparing the two. His last thought before falling into his bed was that maybe Blaise had been right – he did need help.

''''''''''

Of course, his first thought the next morning had nothing to do with Blaise, Astoria, or needing help. Draco had a hangover, and that pretty much occupied his mind. A few minutes and a pepper-up potion later, Draco was feeling much better. Unfortunately, that meant that he noticed the owl outside his window. It was his mother's owl, and those letters were best addressed sooner than later. Draco made short work of getting the letter, only to realize that it was an invitation to her holiday ball. The blonde boy stared at the invitation for several moments – it wasn't even September yet and she was already planning for Christmas? Draco sighed. He hadn't missed this. He had been excused from his mother's parties while he was in Paris. This was, of course, due to her misguided impression that Draco was busy attending parties of his own (which he wasn't), but he was excused nevertheless. Unless he could leave the city – which he wouldn't – he would have to go.

A card fell out of the envelope, and another thought hit Draco.

_Admit Draco Malfoy and guest. _

If he didn't find a date within the next few months – which, as much as he hated to admit, he probably couldn't – he'd be going alone.

His mother would not be pleased.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Again, thank you awesome reviewer! *hugs* (unless you don't like hugs. Then *high five*) **

Hermione Apparated directly into her flat, changed into jeans and a Muggle t-shirt, and directed the pots to start dinner before sinking into a chair and allowing herself to think over what had happened. Harry had shown up right on time, but not even fifteen minutes later, a patronus appeared and Ron's voice told Harry that there was an emergency. Harry, in turn, had told her that he'd keep her posted on what happened before he Apparated away. Hermione had spent the next few minutes debating whether or not she should go somewhere else before ultimately deciding to just stay where she was and do what she was doing before Harry showed up – read. She read for so long that her coffee got cold – she had asked for them to not charm it to stay warm – and the sky darkened. She had just decided that she would stay until she reached the end of the chapter when someone sat down in the chair across from her. Surprised (and slightly annoyed), she looked up and raised her eyebrows.

"Zabini. To what do I owe this pleasure?" It wasn't completely sarcastic; she had worked with the lawyer on a couple of Ministry projects. Still, they weren't anywhere near friends.

"I need a favour," he said, cutting to the point. It was one of the reasons Hermione had been able to work with him – he didn't waste time. "I need you to look out for Draco. He's just getting back to London after working for the family business in France and he's going to be at the Ministry for several months dealing with things there."

"Why does Malfoy need a babysitter?" Hermione asked, choosing to ignore what she assumed to be a lie about why he'd been where he'd been.

"Things didn't go so well in Paris," Zabini said smoothly. "I need to make sure his reputation isn't totally shattered. I also need to make sure he stays out of legal trouble. He's well known lately for drinking, and his emotions get a little out of whack under the influence." Zabini stood up and nodded to a speechless Hermione. "At least think about it. I'll be in touch. We didn't have this conversation.

With that and a pop, he was gone. She barely had time to process what he said before a familiar drawl drew her attention again.

"Granger. Did you finally realize that hair isn't supposed to stick straight out to the side?"

"Thanks for the compliment, Malfoy," she said simply, standing and refusing to argue with him. "Goodbye." She turned on the spot, thinking of her office at the Ministry. About ninety percent of the time that Harry or Ron were called away on an emergency, she was needed at work within a few hours. She didn't want to get comfortable and then have to leave her flat. If they needed her, she'd be there already, and if they didn't, she could get a few things done to justify her plans to leave early come Friday. Ginny would be leaving for training soon, and she had been nagging Hermione for a girls' night for quite some time now.

The Ministry was quiet when she arrived, so she didn't leave her office. She worked steadily for half an hour, going through the notes she had made during the previous day's meeting. It hadn't been a particularly interesting meeting, but taking notes through Professor Binns' class had taught her how to stay awake.

Suddenly, there was a commotion and Harry's patronus showed up in front of her.

"We need you at the Ministry."

Hermione grabbed her wand and twisted on the spot as the stag disappeared. She almost toppled over – someone had put up anti-Apparation wards since she had showed up, and therefore she was simply spinning in a circle. She took off down the hallway towards the lifts, and waited anxiously until it reached the atrium. The moment it came into view, Hermione gasped. All the fireplaces except two were closed off, and two Aurors she didn't know were standing by them, wands at the ready. Harry and Ron were each holding several wands besides their own and all of the people that she could only assume were the owners of said wands were on the floor. Most were bleeding – including the Aurors – and several had tell-tale signs of different hexes. As she stepped out of the lift, she noticed a group standing in a huddle off to the side, looking around and trembling.

"Hermione!" Ron called, spotting her. "When did you get here?"

"I've been here," she replied, moving towards him. "I knew I'd end up getting called… What happened?"

"Attack in Muggle London. They," Ron nodded towards the group, "saw it. The others are at St. Mungo's getting treated. We'll need to question them and modify their memories…"

"Right. I know the drill," Hermione grinned at him. They were still on friendly terms. When Hermione went back to Hogwarts after the war, she and Ron had decided to stay friends instead of trying to follow through with their battle-induced feelings towards each other. They had both been surprised when neither of them had trouble moving on. It was a little awkward at first, when they went out as a group and there was a new face, but they moved past it pretty quickly.

Hermione directed the Muggles – who were in various stages of freak-out mode – into a conference room near her own office.

"I know you're all scared, but I need to know what happened," she said every time she brought one into her office. "Just tell me everything."

"There were flashes of light, people fell… It was like an ambush. Slimmest looking guns I've ever seen. It reminded me of a sci-fi movie or something."

"I didn't know fireworks could hurt people like that."

"My cell phone got all wacky right before it happened."

"No one was saying anything. They were just waving sticks around and sending sparks or something."

"Everyone else just showed up out of thin air, and the original attackers started going down instead of innocent people."

By the time Hermione was done questioning the Muggles that had been there at first, the rest of them had started showing up. Those, she found, knew less than the others. It wasn't a shock - getting hit with any of the various hexes or a stunning spell didn't really make for a clear memory.

She modified the Muggles' memories ad had one of the Aurors take care of getting them to where they were supposed to be. She had just started on the preliminary paperwork when Kingsley showed up in her doorway, telling her that it could wait until Monday – or at the very least, daylight. He also told her that while none of the attackers had their wands, they were going to keep the anti-apparation wards in place. He offered to let her use the floo in his office, but Hermione declined. Her plan was to get just far enough away from the Ministry to be able to Apparate. There was something about tumbling out of her fireplace that she wanted to avoid. Plus, the robbers in her parents' house left her feeling a little uneasy. She walked, lost in her thoughts, until she passed the only bench that was occupied. She stopped, realizing that the person was none other than Draco Malfoy, and she had been asked to look out for him.

_This is his own time,_ she thought. _Not at the Ministry. _

She rolled her eyes and took a few steps back towards him.

"Malfoy?" she asked. If he was passed out, she was sending a Patronus to Zabini and leaving Malfoy here.

"Mmm." Well, he was awake.

"Are you drunk?" Hermione watched as he tried to see who she was. When the recognition finally crossed his face, she had to fight to keep from laughing.

'''''''''''

Her brain was still processing as the pots stopped moving. She stood up and made herself a plate, almost on autopilot. She had seen Malfoy twice in one day, and they had both been almost nice to each other. Civil, at least. Malfoy, for his part, had been drunk, but it still counted for something. Hermione shook her head and pulled her new book out of her bag. If she read while she ate, she wouldn't think about anything else, and might be able to get some sleep. She had a full day ahead of her, and somehow, she knew that it wasn't going to be easy.

**AN: Okay so classes are back in session and these chapters will come out a little slower. Bear with me please! **


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